Sustainable supply chains

As demands from investors, communities, governments, and customers increase across the environment, social, and governance spectrum, thoroughly understanding the supply chain is essential—organizations are now being held responsible for addressing both poor practices upstream and emission levels downstream.

Getting clear insights can be challenging. With limited visibility into supply networks beyond direct suppliers, it’s not easy to know where risks may exist.

We’re in a climate crisis

Supply chains often account for more than 90% of an organization’s  greenhouse gas emissions. 

Social issues are intensifying

The International Labor Organization estimates that 27.6 million people are
trapped in forced labour. This problem is exacerbated by shortages deep in supply chains, as producers and manufacturers struggling to meet demand requirements resort to the unethical treatment of workers. 

Stakeholder expectations are increasing

Consumers and employees are increasingly making decisions informed by
corporations’ declared ESG impacts and priorities. Major public companies in
the United States lost almost half a trillion dollars’ worth of value between 2015 and 2019 due to ESG violations in the supply chain.

An effective and sustainable supply chain can increase organizational resilience, facilitate risk mitigation, and boost efficiency through circularity and diversified sourcing. It can also help protect against supply shortages due to scarce resources and against brand damage linked to an environmental or ethical incident.

There are four ways an organization can manage the complexities of supply chain performance for sustainability:

Meet the climate team